A French edition of the first mapping of Hawaii by Capt Cook

An early chart of the Hawaiian Islands, marking Captain Cook's route on his second visit to the Sandwich Islands, with an inset of Kealakekua Bay, where he met his death, although the map makes no mention of it. Cook's crew were the first Europeans to visit Hawaii, arriving in January 1778 during his Third Circumnavigation. In February they left to follow his mission, which was to look for a Pacific entrance to a 'Northwest Passage', passing through the Bering Strait to be blocked by the icewall. Returning to Hawaii, a dispute about a stolen ship's boat resulted in a skirmish in which Cook and several others were killed by the islanders. This example was engraved by Robert Benard for the French edition of the official account of the Third Voyage.